Sandakan: Infrastructure for the Sandakan Education Hub have been fully completed to enable more educational institutions, including colleges, to build their campus at the hub.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said the infrastructure provided included roads and water and electricity supply which were vital for an education hub.

He said at the moment, three educational institutions had started operating in the area, namely Sekolah Pertanian Lestari Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Sandakan Polytechnic and Mara Junior Science College.

"There will be more university campuses and public and private colleges set up at the hub next year, with some waiting for allocations from the relevant ministries," he added after attending a Sandakan district development briefing, here, Thursday.

According to him, those institutions which had given their commitment to set up campuses and branch campuses at the education hub here included Kolej Yayasan Sabah, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kolej Vokasional, Kolej TAR Sandakan and Kolej PTPL. Musa said the State Government was highly committed to the development of the Sandakan Education Hub to provide ample opportunities to students in Sabah to further their studies.

On another development, he said the Federal Government had approved an allocation of RM25 million to upgrade the drainage system in the Sandakan district in order to overcome the flash flood problem.

He said the State Government was aware and concerned about the frequent occurrence of flash floods in several areas in this district after a heavy downpour or incessant rain.

"The application for an allocation was made straight to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and he approved RM25 million for the upgrading project," he said.

Musa said the project would be tendered out and implemented as soon as possible.